Dominance
by TheIrkenMachine
Summary: Things go from bad to worse when the Tallest's adviser learns that Red has been abusing Purple. Things start to look up when she devises a plan to stop Red, but a last-minute discovery throws a kink in her plan. Red may not be as evil as he seems, but that discovery may have caused Naara to lose Purple's trust for good. Rated M for a graphic chapter. No RAPR. No OC Romance.
1. Hallway

**A/N: This was a bit of a experiment for me to write. A later chapter (3, I believe) will contain a some-what graphic rape scene. I've never written anything like that before and wanted to challenge myself. Red is quite evil in this story, which was another part of my experiment - to see if I could make him evil, yet still in character. He isn't evil in the other things I write. He actually cares a great deal for Purple in my other stuff.  
**

**Invader Zim doesn't belong to me, only my OC Naara. No romance in this story, just friendship.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Hallway**

**((Naara's POV))**

I had been the Elite Advisor, aka the Tallest's personal assistant, for six months. That's how long it had been since the Tallest's former personal Advisor, Rarl Kove, had met his unfortunate end beneath a large crate of snacks in an unforeseen loading bay accident.

I was slowly settling into my new lifestyle. I spent a small portion of my time running errands and checking up on various operations around the Massive, but the vast majority of my time was spent directly with the Tallest. I went almost everywhere they went. The bridge, the cafeteria, the lounge – and my personal quarters were right next to theirs too, in a private part of the Massive that only the three of us could access.

I had spent time with them privately on a number of occasions over the previous six months. Red always appeared charismatic and energetic, whereas Purple was surprisingly silent and reserved. At first I thought perhaps he was bored or annoyed by me, but the more I observed his interactions with Red and the rest of the crew, the more I began to think that maybe there was something going on between them that I was unaware of.

Of course I initially dismissed that idea – everyone knew they were good friends. Yet I couldn't shake the feeling that something just wasn't right between the two of them. I really didn't know what to make of it. I spent practically every minute with them. Aside from when I was running errands or when they were in their private quarters for a few hours each night, I was always with them – surely I would know if something were going on, right?

I did my best to forget the ridiculous thought. They would tell me if something wasn't right. At any rate, I figured there wasn't anything I could do unless one of them came to me. It seemed out of line to ask intrusive questions about their personal relationship.

It turned out I was right though. One night when we were all in our quarters, or so I thought, I stepped out briefly because I had left my tablet on the bridge earlier that day and wished to retrieve it. When I came back, I was unwillingly thrust right into the middle of Purple's nightmare world and Red's sick little game…

In the private corridor leading to our living spaces, Red and Purple's rooms were across from each other, and my room which was a little bit smaller than theirs, was at the end of the hallway, essentially between theirs. I had just passed through the private elevator and was moving towards my doorway at the end of the hallway.

I was just about to pass Red's doorway when it opened suddenly and Purple was flung violently onto the floor in the corridor. Red's door hissed shut as swiftly as it had opened, without so much as word from Red. It seemed he was unaware of my presence, and he probably assumed I was in my quarters where I belonged.

Needless to say, I was shocked and confused at the sight of one of my leaders sprawled on the floor before my feet. I was even more shocked when I realized that the only clothes he was wearing was a pair of lightweight black lounge pants. Red had tossed an item out after him, which appeared to be a hoodie that Purple had yet to discover.

Purple hadn't noticed me yet. He was still lying where he had fallen, eyes pinched shut as though flinching. Slowly, perhaps painfully, he began to pick himself up. He pushed himself up on his arms, and that's as far as he got before he noticed me standing a mere few feet away, staring at him.

His eyes went wide and a look of absolute horror crossed his face as he made eye contact with me. And then we froze. We both just froze, staring at each other in horrified silence for probably a full minute. I was the first to break the silence.

"My Tallest, what happened?" I asked quietly. My head was swimming. Purple didn't answer. He was still staring back at me, frozen. I wanted to escape as badly as he did. It was so incredibly awkward and nerve-wracking. How was I supposed to know what to do?

"Are you ok, my Tallest?" I knelt down in front of him so we were on the same level. When I got closer to him, I noticed that his arms were covered in bruises and there were painful looking claw marks on his chest and the parts of his back not covered by his PAK.

Once he realized I was observing his wounds, he very quickly snatched his hoodie off the floor, flung himself backwards, and scurried away from me until he bumped into the far wall – the one where my doorway was. He stumbled to his feet, clutched the hoodie in front of his chest as if to hide himself, and began moving very unsteadily along the wall until he reached his doorway.

I had stood up again, but otherwise hadn't moved. He paused outside his door, then quite abruptly grabbed my wrist and dragged me inside his quarters. It hurt a little and frightened me. While I was rubbing my sore wrist, Purple quickly pulled his hoodie on. We were still right inside his door and it was clear by the way he positioned himself between me and the rest of his quarters that he had no intention of letting me out of the entryway.

"You didn't see anything!" he said, pointing a finger at me. He was trying to convey anger, I think, to intimidate me, but his eyes betrayed him. They were still wide with the fear that someone knew his secret and they darted about the way they do when a person is nervous. Nonetheless, I did feel intimidated. I knew he was capable of hurting me if he wanted to. I was also aware that it was Purple, not Red, who had the reputation for violence towards subordinates on the Massive.

"You didn't see anything!" he repeated, voice shaking, "Understand? You don't speak to anyone about this! You saw nothing!"

"O-Ok," I stuttered.

"Say it!" he demanded. "Say you didn't see anything!"

"I didn't see anything," I repeated quietly, shrinking back a little.

"Good." Purple stepped back. His expression looked pained. He was trying to figure out what to do with me.

"Are you ok?" I asked again, my voice barely above a whisper.

Purple looked at me briefly, pain flashing behind his violet eyes. He quickly masked the pain behind a look of annoyance that he really had to fight to maintain.

"I'm fine," he said, "Because nothing happened. Now go back to your quarters and stay there until morning."

He turned his back to me. I silently exited, heart pounding, and went back to my own rooms as instructed. What had just happened? What did I just witness? What did Red do to him? Apparently whatever was going on between the two of them was much worse than I could have expected.

I felt sick to my stomach. I felt afraid. I had been getting along so well with both of my leaders, then that happened. I had become afraid of both of them. What was I supposed to do? How could I just go on as if nothing had happened? I rubbed my wrist again where Purple had grabbed me. There were still two marks on my wrist from his claws wrapping so tightly around it. I dreaded the morning. If Purple, clearly Red's victim, could hurt me just because I had been in the wrong the place at the wrong time, what might Red do if he found out I had been in the hallway?


	2. Desperate

**Chapter 2 – Desperate  
**

The next day we all went to breakfast together as usual. Red chatted in his usual friendly manner with the soldiers at our table. Purple sat beside him, as usual, and I sat on the other side of Purple, silent as usual. Even though I wasn't really behaving differently than usual, I was afraid that Red would somehow be able to pick up on how panicked I was feeling. I felt fidgety, and Purple sitting stone-still next to me wasn't helping. I was afraid he was the one that might give something away!

His façade was falling. Although he was quiet at meal time most days anymore, he was never that quiet. And usually he would at least look around the table, fake a smile every now and then, or laugh half-heartedly when Red said something that was meant to be funny. Not today. Today he said nothing. And he kept his eyes downcast, worried frown on his face. He barely even touched his food – donuts, his favorite. Some of the soldiers at the table began to stare and whisper when they finally took note of his strange behavior.

"What's up with you?" Red asked, jabbing him in the ribs with an elbow. Purple startled and snapped his head up. He hadn't realized the others had taken note of his weird behavior and uncharacteristic lack of appetite.

"Why aren't you eating?" Red continued, trying to sound concerned, but I could hear the accusation in his voice, "Is there something wrong with you?"

"I…uh…"Purple stumbled for an answer. "I…don't feel good. I think I might be coming down with something."

"Hm." Red eyed him suspiciously, "You'd better get to the infirmary then. If you're sick, it's best you don't spread it to the rest of us."

Purple silently got up and hovered out of the room. I remained at the table staring after him. The soldiers were whispering among themselves, some looking concerned. I glanced over at Red to see him looking at me curiously. I felt my heart skip a beat. Did he know?

"I'm sure he's fine," Red said calmly to the concerned soldiers at the table, finally shifting his gaze away from me. "It's probably just indigestion. I think we all know he's not exactly the brightest."

A few of the soldiers smirked, others chuckled lightly. I was glaring daggers at Red. It was a good thing he wasn't looking at me right then. Sitting at that table was sickening. I needed an excuse to leave. Red was engaged with the soldiers again, telling them some story he'd probably told a hundred times before, although they'd all act like it was the first time. I got up silently, hoping I could sneak away.

"Where are you going?" Red asked before I could take more than three steps.

"I'm going to go make sure Tallest Purple made it to the infirmary," I said, sounding surprisingly calm, "If he is actually sick, he shouldn't be roaming the hallways by himself."

Red gave me that curious, suspicious look again. I didn't like it. It sent shivers straight through me.

"Just make sure you're on the bridge by 9:00," he told me, then went back to telling his story.

I exhaled steadily as I walked away. I knew Purple wasn't really sick, but I walked in the direction of the infirmary anyways, since I wasn't sure where else to look for him.

I found him after walking for about three minutes. He was hovering aimlessly in an empty hallway. He was picking at the decorative outcropping on the wall and staring blankly at it. It was clear to me that he was deeply distressed.

"My Tallest," I approached him slowly, carefully, "Please, what is going on? I can tell you're not alright."

He turned to face me. He looked exhausted, too exhausted to mask the pain in his eyes with any other false emotion.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, ignoring my question completely, "You shouldn't be here."

"I was worried about you…" I answered. Then foolishly thinking it would help, I added, "Tallest Red knows where I am. I told him I was going to look for you."

Fear. He shook his head and stood up a little straighter.

"You shouldn't have done that," he said. He glanced around the hallway nervously, then hovered past me, back towards the direction of the bridge. "Don't follow me. Wait five minutes. I'll tell Red I didn't see you - that I didn't know you were looking for me."

I watched Purple disappear down the hallway. How I wished he would talk to me. Maybe I could help, although in reality, I had the awful feeling that if Red was indeed the cause of his pain, there was nothing in this universe I could to do help him. I waited in the hallway for five minutes, as Purple had requested, before walking back towards the bridge myself.

The rest of the day went as I predicted it would: More awkward tension on the bridge, more awkward tension at lunch, and again at dinner. We all returned to our rooms after dinner, and I knew I was expected to stay in my room all night. I sat down on my plushy Vortian sofa with my tablet, trying very, very hard to concentrate on my work.

I heard a door swish open and shut in the hallway, footsteps, and another door swish open and shut. I sat still for a moment, feeling some mixture of confusion and worry. When I didn't hear any more sounds from the hallway, I tried to focus my attention on my work again.

About two hours later I was startled by an unexpected knocking on my door. Again I sat still, feeling my heart pumping and not entirely sure that the knock was for me. When I heard it again, I set my tablet on the coffee table in front of me and went to my door.

When I opened the door, Purple was standing there wearing the same black lounge pants and purple hoodie he was wearing the night before – no armor. He was also wearing that same expression – that mixture of fear and pain. His eyes looked particularly watery at the time. And he smelled fresh – like soap – like he'd taken a shower before he came over.

"Can I come in?" he asked very quietly.

"Of course," I answered. I stepped aside so he could enter. He sat down on my sofa. I sat down to the right of him, being sure to leave him enough personal space, and angling myself at a conversational angle. I waited for him to say something. Silence. He wasn't even looking at me. His eyes were downcast, staring at his fingers which idly twitched in his lap.

"I know I've asked you this a lot lately," I began, "but, Are you Ok?"

He didn't speak. He just briskly wiped at his right eye with the sleeve of his hoodie.

"My Tallest," I pleaded, "Please, talk to me. What's going on? I'm your Advisor. I want to help you."

"You can't help me," he said softly, wiping at the other eye.

"Why not?"

"You just can't. There's nothing you can do." He paused. "I don't even know why I'm here. There's nothing you can do. I just…I can't do this anymore…"

His voice was quiet, fragile. He wiped at his eyes once more. My heart went out to him. How desperate must he be to cry in front of me?

"You can't do what anymore?" I questioned gently, followed by, "How long has this been going on?"

"I can't….keep this up anymore," he answered, "I can't keep going on like nothing's wrong. It's been going on for a while now…The first time was years ago, shortly after we became the Tallest…then nothing for years…but now…"

He paused again and seemed to be contemplating whether he should say anything more. I waited patiently.

"I don't understand why…" he continued, "…why is he doing this? I thought we were friends. I don't know what I did wrong. I figured it was, you know, a dominance thing the first time…I forgave him for it and everything…but why won't he stop? And now…it's like every night."

His voice cracked at the end and he wiped at his eyes once more. He didn't have to say the exact words. I knew now that Red had done exactly what I had feared he had done. I was hoping there was some other explanation, that Red wasn't really some horrible monster in disguise, but I could see now that it was true.

"I can't do this anymore," Purple whimpered. His emotions were getting harder to control. "Do you have any idea how he makes me feel? Do you know what it's like, every single day, to feel stupid and…and disgusting and…worthless?"

Another pause. I watched him bite his bottom lip in an attempt to control himself.

"I don't know what to do…I can't….but…I'm afraid to die."

I sat up on the edge of my seat. "What do you mean? Are you afraid he's going to kill you?"

Purple shrugged indifferently. "I don't know. Maybe, eventually. But if he is…then that's all the more reason for me to do it myself, right? At least if I do it myself I can make it quick…"

My blood felt like ice running through my veins. "My Tallest! You're not thinking about…about killing yourself?"

"…I don't really see another way out of this, Naara…"

"Please, don't kill yourself," I said, "There's a way out. There has to be. We'll find it. Together. I'll help you find a way out of this. Please."

He looked at me with the saddest, most desperate look I'd ever seen. He really was ready to give up.

"If there's a way out, you'd better find it soon," he said, "because I can't take much more of this."

His voice broke again at the end of his sentence as fresh tears rolled down his face. I took his hand in mine and squeezed it gently.

"We'll find it," I reassured, "We'll find it, and then everything will be ok. OK?"

He nodded, too choked up to speak. I could tell he was fighting to not break down completely.

"Come here" I said softly, opening my arms to him.

He accepted my embrace. He positioned himself on the sofa so his head was resting on my collar bone and his arms were wrapped around my midsection. I folded my arms securely around him. I felt his body trembling in my arms and his tears were soaking through my uniform. I was still processing what I had heard. How could Red brutalize him like this? And why? Red always seemed so self-controlled and the kinder of the two. How could he do this to his fellow Tallest?


	3. Dominance

**Chapter 3 – Dominance  
**

We were both startled when there was a loud pounding on the door. Purple pulled away from me and looked me in the eyes, horror-stricken. It was Red. We both knew it. He was the only other one that it could be. I looked back at Purple with my own horrified expression, silently asking him what to do.

"You have to answer it," he said quietly. "He won't go away. He'll just get angrier."

More pounding on the door. I stood up from the sofa slowly. My stomach was churning, heart and mind racing, as I moved towards the door. When I opened the door, Red was leaning against the door frame with a positively sinister grin gracing his lips.

"Naara!" he greeted me with condescending enthusiasm.

"My Tallest," I curtsied begrudgingly. "How may I help you?"

"I was looking for Purple. He didn't answer his door, so I thought I'd see if he was with you. Looks like I was right."

Red was eyeing Purple like a piece of meat. Purple was still by the sofa, but standing. Trapped. He was trapped. And so was I. Red was strong, and a warrior. I knew I couldn't fight him, and I was guessing that Purple couldn't either, or else he would have put an end to this already.

Red pushed past me into the foyer of my living quarters. Purple moved towards us marginally. There was about three feet of space between him and Red.

"So, what are you doing here?" Red asked him. I could tell by his tone he was mocking us. He was playing with his prey. He already knew that Purple had confided everything to me. He had already suspected as much at breakfast that morning, and finding Purple in my rooms was the proof he needed.

"I was hanging out with Naara," Purple answered, trying to control the shakiness in his voice.

"Mm-hm. And by 'hanging-out,' you don't happen to mean sharing all of your dirty little secrets, do you? Because you know how I feel about you sharing secrets."

Purple stood staring at Red in silence. His eyes were desperate, pleading. I was so afraid for both of us in that moment. Red was going to do something bad, I knew it, and there wasn't a thing I could do to stop him.

"You know," Red teased, "I really liked Naara. I wish you hadn't brought her into this."

"Don't you touch her!" Purple shouted suddenly. "She didn't do anything!"

"Heheh. I didn't say I was going to touch her, did I? In fact, I don't think I said I was going to _**do**_ anything to her, but now that you mention it…I'm going to make her watch."

Purple's eyes were wide with horror again. He shook his head and I think I heard him whispering 'no…' In a swift movement, Red had closed the distance between himself and Purple and had grabbed Purple roughly by the wrist, which he had twisted behind his back. Just as swiftly, he had turned on me, grabbing my arm and twisting it behind my back in the same way.

"What are you doing?" I cried, struggling to try to free myself.

"Don't struggle," Purple told me. He sounded totally defeated. "Struggling will just make this worse."

Red pushed us both out of my living quarters and into his. He shoved Purple towards his bed, but didn't let go of me.

"Sit there and don't move," he ordered Purple, "or I'll do a lot worse than make her watch."

Purple sat down on the foot of Red's bed. The sheets were all rumpled. It disgusted me, thinking about what he must have used that bed for to get the sheets so disarrayed.

Without ever letting go of the grip around my wrist, Red dragged a chair from his dining area so it was facing the foot of the bed. There was a small table with drawers behind us and Red was digging around in the drawer for something that I couldn't see.

"Sit." He demanded. I reluctantly obeyed.

Red grabbed my arms again and pulled them back behind the chair. I felt something cold and metallic touch my wrists, followed by the clinking sound of hand cuffs locking into place. I looked at Purple sitting on the foot of the bed. He was staring at the floor, ashamed.

"I bet you're wondering why I'm doing this," Red said as he moved around to the front side of my chair. "I bet Purple made me sound like some monster, didn't he?"

Neither of us answered. Red glanced over his shoulder at Purple, who was still staring down at the floor.

"You should know better," he said to Purple. "Now, Naara, you and I have gotten along quite well up until this point, and I'd hate to see our relationship ruined on account of Purple, so allow me to explain…"

I was glaring at Red with all the hatred I could muster, hoping that somehow my anger would be so great it would cause him to burst into flames. Red continued speaking, un-phased.

"I'm sure you're aware that this is the first time in Irken history that our people have had two leaders. Didn't you find it odd that there was no struggle for power between us?"

"I thought that was because you were friends!" I hissed, "Everyone says you've known each other forever! Everyone thought you worked so well together because you're such good friends!"

"Friendship doesn't mean anything," Red sneered, "I don't know what planet you grew up on, but back on Irk where I'm from, friendship is a weakness! Anyways, the reason there was no power struggle was because I was advised by the Control Brains that I should take the first opportunity I got to assert my dominance. I was the one they felt was more capable to rule, obviously. So I was proactive. The first time Purple stepped out of line, I *ahem* asserted my dominance, if you know what I mean, and it proved to be an effective means of discipline – we ruled peaceably together for years! So I've kept that in mind, in case I needed to use it again. Purple here has gotten a little too comfortable and, well, arrogant, lately, so obviously some discipline was in order to put him back in his place."

"That's sick!" I spat, "You're supposed to share the power equally!"

"Don't be naïve, Naara. You know someone always has to come out on top. It was destined to be me. He doesn't have what it takes to rule this empire. Look at him! He's pathetic!"

"No he's not!"

"I don't know about that," Red glanced back at Purple, "he's been getting himself punished a lot lately. If he'd quit screwing up, I wouldn't have to do this. And this time – this was big. He knows he's not supposed to talk about these things with anyone. And now you get to watch, so you can understand just how serious I am when I tell you to do something."

Red turned his back to me and moved in on Purple. I wanted to scream and I struggled against my restraints to no avail. Purple still sat unmoving on the foot of the bed. Red stood before him. He cupped his face in his two-fingered hand, gently, and forced Purple to look at him. Then he slapped him hard across the face. I gasped. I couldn't watch this! I would die!

All of a sudden Red violently pulled Purple up off the bed by the arms and slammed him into a nearby wall, twisting his arms behind his back again. I could tell Purple was striving not to yell out in pain and fear. Just as violently, Red bent Purple over the bed, pressing his head down to the mattress. Red kept one hand on the back of Purple's neck, restraining him. With his other hand, he yanked the black lounge pants off his co-ruler. I was shaking my head violently. No, this wasn't happening! This could not be happening!

Red had also removed his own pants with one hand, so that both of them were naked from the waist down. Red quickly removed his hoodie, then roughly yanked Purple's hoodie off too, while still keeping him restrained. Then without warning, Red roughly penetrated Purple's posterior opening with his fully erect member. Purple cried out in pain that time. I could only imagine how painful it must be for him. Red had raped him like that earlier that night, as well as the previous night, and who knew how many nights before that.

"Ha! You like that, don't you?!" Red mocked. He grabbed hold of one of Purple's antennae and yanked hard on it, eliciting another cry of pain and causing him to lift his head. "Look at your friend! Look her in the eyes!"

When Purple didn't comply immediately, Red pulled on his antennae even harder.

"Do it, or I'll rip your antennae right out of your head!"

Purple turned his head towards me. Tears ran down his face. I was crying too. I was feeling guilty. I told him not to kill himself. Maybe I should have let him. Maybe that would have been the merciful thing to do.

Red thrust roughly in and out of Purple a few times, forcing a fresh waterfall of tears to fall each time. Red pulled out as quickly and roughly as he had entered, causing Purple's legs to give out underneath him. Blood. I saw blood. He needed medical help.

"Stand up," Red ordered. When Purple didn't immediately comply, Red kicked him. Purple raised his hands in self-defense, still unable to stand.

"I told you to stand up!" Red hissed. He grabbed Purple's wrists roughly and forced him to his feet again. Sneering at Purple's pained and terrified expression, Red hit him in the face again, then a second time. Purple was sobbing and the tears ran like waterfalls down his face.

Red ran his hands suggestively over Purple's bare chest. His chest and his back were already raw with unhealed claw marks. I saw Purple cringing. He knew what was coming. Red went from suggestively caressing, to digging his claws in, drawing fresh blood and reopening old wounds.

Red ran his hands down the insides of Purple's thighs, making a mockery of what for most creatures would be an intimate and pleasurable place to be touched. When his claws closed around Purple's member, the violet-eyed Tallest's legs gave out again. Red let him sink to the floor, on his knees.

"Fine. If you want to sit on the floor, you can make yourself useful," Red muttered. "Open your mouth."

Purple looked up at him, eyes begging him to stop. There was something about that look and way Red's face suddenly contorted into a look of pure evil pleasure. Was this something, in all his cruelty, that he had never forced on his violet-eyed cohort before? Was he saving it? The final degradation?

"Open your mouth!" Red slapped Purple again and then yanked on one of his antennae violently. The pain forced him to open his mouth as he cried out, and Red forced his long member down Purple's throat, nearly choking him. I shut my eyes and turned my head away.

"Open your eyes!" Red shouted at me. "Open your eyes and watch unless you want to be next!"

I forced myself to look at the horrible scene before me again. At least my own tears were blurring my vision enough to make the scene cloudy. I couldn't block out the sounds of Purple nearly gagging and choking through his sobbing, though.

"Don't you dare gag!" Red shouted. He grabbed hold of the base of both of Purple's antennae and thrust himself even deeper into his co-ruler.

When Red finally pulled out again he left Purple gasping for air. Red forced him to his feet again and bent him over the bed.

"I'm going to finish inside you," Red hissed, "because that's all you're good for. You're worthless, Purple. Say it! Say you're worthless!"

"…I…I'm worthless…" Purple sobbed.

"That's right. Everyone, including Naara, knows that you're a worthless idiot."

Red violently forced his large organ into him again, each thrust eliciting a painful sob or whimper from Purple. As Red got closer to finishing, the thrusting got deeper and more intense. I thought for sure if he penetrated Purple any deeper or harder he would split him in two. He dug his claws into Purple's raw back and sides. I saw Purple grip the bed sheets in pain.

Red finished at last with a series of three great thrusts, grabbing hold of Purple's hips and pulling him towards himself as he pounded him from behind. Sticky translucent fluid mixed with Purple's blood and dripped down his legs. Red pulled out violently, which caused Purple again to cry out in pain and made his legs give out.

Red immediately grabbed Purple around his upper arms and dragged him to the door. He opened the door to the hallway and threw Purple violently to the floor, the same way I had witnessed the other day. I craned my neck to see what was going on. Red kicked Purple in the ribs once before coming back into the room. He snatched Purple's clothes off the floor and threw them into the hallway after him.

"Let that be a lesson to you both," Red said to me. I only glared at him. I had never wanted to murder anybody so badly in my entire life. He undid my handcuffs at last and let me leave without saying another word.


	4. Tears

**Chapter 4 - Tears  
**

Purple was still lying on the floor in the corridor. He had curled into the fetal position with his hands protectively shielding his head and he was sobbing. I knelt down by his side immediately. Dark green blood was smeared all over him from the lacerations covering his skin and from being penetrated so violently. I dared to touch his shoulder, hoping to get his attention without doing anything that could possibly make him feel more violated. He knew it was me.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered between sobs.

"Shh," I gently shushed him, "you don't have anything to apologize for, My Tallest. None of this is your fault."

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this," he sobbed, "You never should have had to see that. I'm so sorry."

"Purple…" I stroked his skin gently with the backs of my fingers of one hand, "It's not your fault. I want to be here, with you. You shouldn't have to face this alone."

He curled in on himself even tighter, still sobbing.

"You need to go to the medical ward," I said gently, "You're bleeding."

"No. No, I can't." Purple shook his head. His eyes were still closed in pain.

"My Tallest, please. You could be seriously hurt. He was…he was really rough with you. They need to do an exam."

"I can't. I can't let anyone else know what happened to me. You can't tell anyone, Naara. Promise me you won't!" He pleaded.

"Of course I won't," I replied with a sigh, "I won't do anything you don't want me to do. I'm just worried about you."

"I'm fine," Purple lied. He opened his eyes and managed to sit up. His sobbing had quieted, but tears still fell from his eyes. "I…I just need to shower is all."

"Can you get up?"

"I think so…"

I gathered up his clothes for him, although he wasn't concerned with re-dressing at the moment. I helped him stagger to his feet and supported him as he limped back to his own quarters. I helped him into the bathroom, but then left him in privacy so he could attempt to feel clean again. I sat down on his sofa and patiently waited, all the while thinking about what had just happened and becoming more and more enraged at Red. I couldn't let him keep hurting Purple like this. I just couldn't. I had to do something…but what could I possibly do?

A full hour had passed before Purple emerged from the shower. He had donned a clean pair of lounge pants – ones that matched his eyes this time – and was not wearing a shirt. The wounds covering his torso dripped blood. He stared at me in silence from the bathroom doorway.

"Do you need help?" I asked.

"…yes…" he answered, sounding ashamed.

"Ok." I stood up from the sofa and entered the bathroom. I found a roll of bandages and some healing medical gel in his medicine cabinet. Purple leaned against the counter, eyes adverted. I grabbed a fresh cloth in one hand, and the medical gel in the other.

"Just try to relax," I told him. I started blotting at the wounds with the cloth to clean away the blood. Purple winced a few times and shivered when I began to apply the cold gel to his skin.

He was absolutely covered in claw marks so it took quite a while for me to apply the gel all over his chest, sides, and back. I took note of some of the nasty looking bruises in all stages of healing, some from being kicked in the ribs or side, others from being kicked in the stomach or back. He also had bruises on his wrists and upper arms, and of course on his face from being hit repeatedly this last time. I shook my head. I didn't understand how anyone could do this to another creature. Once I was finished with the gel, I gingerly began bandaging the wounded area, which didn't take nearly as long as the rest of the process. Purple hadn't said another word to me and he kept his eyes turned away.

"All done," I announced.

He didn't move. He continued to stand in that same spot, eyes shamefully adverted. I could see tears brimming in his eyes again and he quickly blinked them away.

"Come on, let's go sit down in the other room," I said. He still didn't move or acknowledge me. "My Tallest…"

Still nothing.

"Purple…" He finally shifted his gaze to me when I said his name, although as soon as our eyes met he shamefully looked away again. "Come on," I repeated gently, "Let's go in the other room."

Purple silently put his hooded shirt on over his bandages on his way out of the bathroom. I followed him out of the room and back to the sofa.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" I asked.

"No," he answered as he took a seat. I sat down next to him. An awkward silence resumed between us. Purple stared blankly ahead, trapped in his own inner world. I sat beside him, wanting nothing more than to help him, but failing to even come up with something useful to say to him.

A few minutes passed of just silence. Slowly, Purple leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and hid his face behind his hands. I could see his body trembling and knew he was crying quietly again. I placed a hand gently on his shoulder and he started crying harder. His antenna twitched painfully from being tugged on by Red earlier.

"I keep hearing him…" Purple said quietly through his tears, never shifting his position on the sofa, "It's like a transmission replaying and I can't shut it off…I keep hearing him tell me that I'm…that I'm…worthless…"

"You don't believe him, do you?" I asked.

"…I don't know…" he answered with a whimper, "I don't know anymore…"

"It's not true," I told him. I hated that he was too ashamed to look at me. I moved so that I was sitting on my knees on the floor in front of him rather than beside him. I gently took his hands and pulled them away from his face, so he had to look at me at least briefly.

"It's not true, My Tallest," I said again, looking up into his tear-filled violet eyes. "You're not worthless. He's wrong. He's nothing but a vile, cruel, treacherous bully. None of this is your fault, ok? You deserve so much better than this."

Purple stared back at me. I could see that he desperately wanted to believe me but was still struggling against Irk only knows how many years of Red making him feel like nothing. His tears had subsided for the time being and I resumed my spot sitting beside him on the sofa.

The silence returned. After a few minutes, Purple shifted so he was lying down on the sofa, curled on his side with his head resting on the armrest opposite of me. He closed his eyes. I observed him for a moment.

"Would like me to leave so you can rest, My Tallest?" I asked at last.

"No," he answered, eyes still shut, "unless you want to leave. You can stay as long as you'd like."

"I'll stay then," I replied.

I smiled slightly to myself. He wanted me to stay. At least that meant he trusted me. My smile quickly faded however as I continued to watch over the sleeping form of my leader. He trusted me. That meant I had to figure out a way to stop Red for good, no matter the cost. I had made a promise to him that I would help him find a way out of this. I had to find a way to keep that promise or risk losing his trust, and I could not bear the thought of breaking his trust now.

I slouched down on the sofa and stared up at the ceiling blankly. I could feel despair creeping in and I angrily pushed the feeling aside. I didn't have time to despair. I had to fix this somehow. I focused my thoughts on locating a solution and let the hours slip by as Purple continued to doze beside me.


	5. Solution

**Chapter 5 - Solution**

Several hours had passed. I was exhausted and was starting to doze off myself. I was awakened by Purple groaning and fidgeting in his sleep. I looked down at him. Even in his sleep his antennae were lowered submissively and he appeared to be wincing. I watched him for a few seconds, contemplating what to do. He looked either terrified or in pain, so I decided to wake him from the nightmare. He suffered enough when he was awake, he didn't deserve to have to suffer in his sleep too.

"My Tallest," I shook him gently, but he didn't wake up. I stood up from my seat and leaned over him, shaking him a little rougher and repeating, "My Tallest! Wake up!"

His eyes shot open suddenly and he let out a short, frightened scream right before his right hand collided with my face. The impact knocked me off balance and I fell backwards, tripping over the coffee table and hitting my head off the floor.

I lay there stunned for a moment before my brain registered the throbbing pain radiating first from my left eye, then from my head. I touched the wounded area around my eye and when I pulled my hand back I noticed there was blood on it. Apparently Purple had also clawed my flesh when he struck out at me. I slowly pushed myself into a sitting position, feeling the room swirl around me. I touched the back of my head too, and was mildly relieved when there was no blood.

Purple sat on the edge of the sofa staring at me through wide eyes with one hand covering his mouth in shock. I stared back at him, still too shocked myself to say anything. After another few seconds Purple came out of his stunned trance. He moved so he was sitting on the floor in front of me. The room was still swimming enough that I hardly noticed he had moved until he spoke.

"I'm sorry!" he gasped. "I'm so sorry! Are you OK? I didn't mean to hurt you!"

He reached out to touch the wounded area on my face and I instinctively flinched away from him. I cursed myself for the flinching the moment I saw the hurt, guilty look in his eyes.

"I'm OK," I said at last, rubbing the back of my head a little, "It was an accident."

Purple sat on his legs across from me with his hands sitting idly in his lap. He wasn't going to reach out for me again. His eyes were downcast and his antennae drooped slightly.

"I never wanted to hurt you," he said quietly, "I feel terrible."

"It's not your fault, my Tallest," I answered, "It was stupid of me to try to wake you up in that manner. I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm sorry for that."

"You were just trying to help…"

"Doesn't matter. It was an accident and it's in the past. I'm fine, really."

He looked up at me and I tried to give him a convincing smile.

"You're bleeding…" he said.

"Don't worry about it," I replied. "I'll put some gel on it and it will be good as new."

I stood up, using the arm of the sofa to steady myself. Then I went into the bathroom to put some healing gel on my wounds. There were two claw marks across my left eye and the area was beginning to bruise. I sighed and applied the gel. The claw marks would probably be gone before I had to report to the bridge in a few hours, but I doubted the bruising would be completely healed by then.

When I returned to the living room, Purple was seated on the sofa again and I resumed sitting next to him.

"Did you think of anything yet?" he asked me.

"No," I sighed, "not yet."

It was silent again. A few seconds passed, then Purple reached for the television remote on the table in front of us. He flicked on the TV, flipping through a few channels before randomly settling on one and staring blankly at the screen. I wanted to say something to him, but found myself without words again. I joined him in staring blankly at the TV, frustrated with myself for not being able to think of some way to deal with Red.

Morning came at last, and we reluctantly went down to the cafeteria together. All of Purple's wounds were hidden beneath his uniform. The look of exhaustion and despair barely hidden in his expression were the only clues that something was amiss. As I predicted, the lacerations around my eye had disappeared completely, but there was still just enough bruising to draw attention from the crew seated at our table, and more importantly, from Red. I kept my eyes downcast, hoping nobody would ask me how I got my black eye, and trying to formulate a story to tell them if they did ask. No one spoke to me, content to whisper among themselves.

Purple and I finished our meals quickly so we could leave the cafeteria as soon as possible and hopefully have a few minutes of peace on the bridge before Red came in. He always liked to stay behind and bask in the praise and attention he got from the crew in the cafeteria.

Today, however, he got up and followed us as soon we stood to leave. He hovered beside Purple in the hallway, not saying anything and keeping his face blank until we were away from the crew and in a part of the long hallway all by ourselves. Suddenly, he turned and shoved Purple roughly into the wall, pinning his shoulders against the cold metal surface.

"Did you _hit_ her?" he growled.

"No…"

"Don't lie!" Red pulled him off the wall a few inches before slamming him back against it again.

"No! I didn't!" Red raised his hand in the air, ready to strike. "Stop! Please!"

"He didn't hit me!" I blurted out. Red paused and looked at me. "I…I tripped, my Tallest."

Red stared at me through narrowed eyes. I knew he didn't believe me. He shifted his gaze down the hallway suddenly. Footsteps. He lowered his hand and released Purple. The three of us stood there in silence, waiting for a service drone to scurry past. Once we were alone again, Red turned back to Purple. He gave him a long, venomous stare. He didn't say another word. He just violently pushed Purple into the wall one more time before turning and hovering the rest of the way to the bridge by himself.

I turned my attention back to Purple. He was shaken, of course. The hallway was empty as far as I could see either direction, except for us. Purple let his hover belt switch off and allowed himself to slide down the wall until he was sitting on the floor with his legs drawn up to his chest. His eyes were wide and frightened and he stared straight ahead, looking at nothing. I knelt down next to him.

"I…I can't even defend myself anymore…" he said, shaking his head, "How pathetic is that? Don't waste your time on me, Naara. So what if we got rid of Red? The Empire would be stuck with me as the only Tallest then. I'd probably be declared a defective. How could I not be? I can't do this. I can't even stand up for myself…"

I put my hand on his shoulder and saw him blink rapidly a few times. He was trying not to cry again. He couldn't let himself cry again. Not here, anyways.

"Don't say that, my Tallest," I told him gently, "These are unusual circumstances. You're too hard on yourself. You're a lot stronger than you feel right now. I know you are. He's wearing you down. This is exactly what he wants. Don't let him win. Don't give up yet. I'm not ready to give up yet. I still think we can figure this out."

He didn't respond to me, but remained seated on the floor, staring straight ahead and looking physically exhausted. I stayed crouched next to him. When we heard footsteps echoing from somewhere down the hallway again, he slowly stood up and I followed.

"Let's go," he said quietly. He began hovering towards the bridge and I kept pace beside him.

Once we were on the bridge, I took up my post standing just inside the entry-way. Red was fiddling with a tablet and giving orders to the navigators and technicians. Purple collapsed into his chair where he zoned out for most of the day. He mostly stared blanking in front of him, drinking whatever beverages the servants brought him and trying to avoid making eye-contact with Red.

As the hours ticked by, I grew more and more anxious. The day would be over soon, and I was afraid of what Red was going to do to Purple come night-fall. I still hadn't come up with any solutions and I honestly wasn't sure if Purple could make it through one more night of abuse. The fear Red had instilled in him was almost worse than the abuse itself. I was afraid the constant anxiety was going to take its toll on him before Red did.

"_**Remote access."**_

I heard the words, but I wasn't sure who had said them or why. I had been so focused on my own worries that I had stopped paying attention to my surroundings.

"Use the remote access." It was Red, speaking to Invader Slacks on the view screen.

"I can do that?"

"Of course you can do that! All Invaders should know how to do that!"

I still didn't know what the conversation was about, but it didn't matter. Red had just inadvertently given me the solution I was looking for. Now, I just needed to find a way to get Purple away from him long enough to implement my sinister little plan. One hour until the end of the shift. I would have to hurry…


	6. Plans

**Chapter 6 – Plans**

"My Tallest…" I approached Red carefully, trying to hide my nervousness so he wouldn't see right through me.

"What?"

"There's an issue in the loading bay…with the snacks. They've requested your assistance."

"What's the issue?"

"I don't know. They said it was urgent though."

Red looked at me apprehensively for a second, but luckily his concern over a potential snacking issue won out and he left the bridge. Purple looked at me curiously.

"I think I have a solution," I told him, choosing my words careful so as not to raise suspicion among the crew. I nodded my head towards the door and he followed me out to a private meeting room a few doors down.

"So what's your solution?" he asked me after I had closed and locked the door behind us.

"Well…" I hesitated. Saying the words out loud, acknowledging my plan for what it really was made it sound so much more sinister. "…we kill Red."

"_That's_ your idea?" Purple sounded disappointed. "Do you think I haven't thought of that already? We can't kill him. First off, he's too cunning and physically strong. Second, that's treason. We would both be executed if anyone even knew were talking about such a thing!"

"Hear me out – ," I argued, "I'm not talking about attacking him, or poisoning him, or anything like that. I'm talking about remote deactivating his PAK. It could be made to look like a glitch. No one would ever know we had anything to do with it."

"You can do that? I mean, our PAKs can be deactivated remotely?" he looked mildly paranoid. "I thought we had to be connected to the Control Brains to have our PAKs deactivated."

"No. Not many Irkens know that, of course. I remember one of my instructors mentioning it in one of my advanced technology courses years ago. The Control Brains maintain the right and the ability to remote deactivate an Irken in the event of an extreme emergency situation, like in case of a wide-scale rebellion, for example."

Purple seemed to be considering what I was saying.

"You said we could remote deactivate Red's PAK without it being traced to us?" he asked. "How would we do that?"

"We hack the Control Brains. Well, not us per say. I certainly don't possess those types of skills. We convince someone else to hack the Control Brains for us, search out Red's PAK ID, and deactivate it."

"Who? Who would be willing to take such a risk?"

"Someone not connected to the Empire. I was thinking…that human Zim is always complaining about – you know, the one with the abnormally large head? He's hacked into Zim's computers numerous times. I bet he could pull it off."

"What makes you think he would help us? He hates us! One time he called us from Zim's base and told Red and I that we were 'alien scum.'"

"He hates Zim," I corrected, "because Zim is trying to destroy his home world. We tell him the truth – that we're not interested in his planet, that we hate Zim just as much as he does. We promise him that if he does this for us we will never bring any harm to planet Earth."

"Maybe…" Purple still looked apprehensive, "but what if he remote deactivates me too? What's to stop him?"

I sighed. "I know. That's the risk we'd be taking. If he proved to be untrustworthy he could deactivate quite a few of us before the Control Brains realized they'd been hacked, but that's the only idea I've got."

Purple was silent, contemplating. I was silent as well. I was suddenly feeling hopeless again. It had seemed like a workable idea at first, but after having more time to think about it, I realized that the odds were really not in our favor. I had no idea if I could trust that large-headed human – Dib, I think was his name. Could I live with myself if Purple ended up dead because of my idea?

"Well, if we don't do something I'm going to end up dead eventually anyways," Purple said at last, "Even if the human did try to remote deactivate me, I'd still have ten minutes on my life clock in which to do something. He might be able to take out a few of us, but the Control Brains would go into lockdown before he could wipe out any significant portion of our population. If he betrays us, I'll order the immediate destruction of his entire planet."

"So you think it's worth a shot then?" I asked.

"Yes. I can't keep living like this, and I don't want to give Red the final victory. I want it to be mine. And…I'm afraid he might go after you next, especially after he finds out you lied to him about there being a snacking emergency. I can't protect you from him – I can't even protect myself."

"We'd better hurry then," I said.

I walked over to the computer station on the far end of the room. The large screen which spanned the entire wall came to life as I punched in my activation codes. Purple stood beside me. Once I was sure we were using a secure connection, I attempted to send a transmission through to TAK's ship, which Zim had told us the human had confiscated after her failed attempt at impressing the Tallest by filling the planet with snacks. We both silently stared at the screen in anticipation…

**LOCATING…RECEIVER LOCATED… CONNECTING…CONNECTION SUCCESSFUL…PREPARING TO TRANSMIT…TRANSMITTING…**

It felt like we waited an eternity for the human to respond, although it was really only a few seconds. A very confused looking boy with messy black hair appeared on our screen. It was dark where he was, but the glow from his computer screen illuminated his surroundings enough for us to see that he was not in Tak's ship, but a larger room. He must have figured out how to use the remote link to connect it to his personal computer.

"Dib?" I asked.

"Yeah?" He sounded groggy. We had apparently woken him up.

"Wait…." He squinted at the screen. His eyes suddenly grew large as he realized what we were. "You're Irken! You're Zim's people! What do you want? Why did you wake me up?"

"I apologize for waking you, Dib," I began, "We've contacted you to —"

"I recognize you!" Dib interrupted me as he took note of Purple. "You're one of Zim's leaders!"

"Yes, I am," Purple replied. "Look, human, we're calling you to ask for your help."

"My help? Why would I help you?! You want to annihilate my planet, remember?!"

"That's actually not true…" Purple said, "The Irken Empire has no interest in annihilating or otherwise conquering your planet."

"Oh, come on!" Dib snapped, clearly annoyed. "Then why'd you send Zim here!"

"We didn't." Purple tried to explain. "He's not a real Invader. He was supposed to be serving a life-long banishment for almost destroying our civilization, but he quit when he heard about Impending Doom II. We sent him on a "secret mission" with that defective robot of his to get rid of him. We thought he would die while floating through the cold void of space in search of an unnamed planet. We didn't actually expect him to find a planet. We had no idea Earth even existed until he landed there."

"Wait…" Dib was squinting, processing the information. "So…Zim isn't a real Invader? I've been chasing him all this time and he's not even a real threat?"

"I didn't say he wasn't a threat," Purple said with a shrug, "The little defect destroys everything he touches. That's why we didn't want him anywhere near us. What I'm saying is that we did not send him to your planet to destroy it."

"Hmm…" Dib was looking at us skeptically, "So…even if that's true, what does that have to do with me? And who are you?" He gestured at me.

"My name is Naara," I answered. "I'm the Tallest's Advisor. And we are telling you these things in hopes that you'll help us."

"Right. That." he replied. "What could you possibly need my help for? And…I thought there were two leaders…"

"There are." Purple answered.

"So where's the other one?"

Purple looked at me to take over the conversation. I could tell he was becoming frustrated with having to explain himself to the human.

"The other one's the problem," I said, "He's the thing that we need your help with. We've heard you're quite the computer hacker. We need you to hack into the Control Brains and remote deactivate him."

"Ok. I didn't understand a word of what you just said," Dib replied. "Could you repeat that in English?"

I sighed. I thought after years of spying on Zim and having Tak's ship to play with that he would've known more Irken terminology.

"How much to you know about our society, Dib?" I asked him.

"Not as much as I'd like," he replied. "Zim's gotten better at detecting my spy bugs lately."

"Ok." I paused, trying to think of the best and quickest way to explain it to him. "You know that PAK Zim wears on his back? All Irkens wear a PAK like that. It operates like a computer and contains everything about us – our names, our jobs, our personalities, our achievements, our collective memories. It also contains a number of things useful to us in our individual line of work – weapons for Invaders, a tablet for Advisors like me. But most importantly, the PAK is our life-support."

I paused again, giving Dib time to process what I was saying.

"It is very difficult to kill an Irken," I continued. "The PAKs are able to resuscitate us and keep us alive long past the point where other creatures would die. However, we can only live for 10 minutes without a PAK. If an Irken's PAK is removed – or remote deactivated – our life clock turns on, counting down the minutes left before we expire. Without the PAK, our body systems will begin to shut down one-by-one."

Dib was listening with rapt attention. What I was saying was fascinating to him, although I sensed that he still struggled to fully grasp it.

"Our PAKs connect us to the Control Brains," I went on, "which are basically giant, super-intelligent computers that store our collective knowledge and memories. They are responsible for deciding which career an Irken is suited for, and for judging Irkens on trial, and things like that. The Control Brains can terminate the life of an Irken who has been judged a defective by physically connecting to the Irken's PAK to deactivate it. However, our people often forget that the Control Brains also have the ability to deactivate an Irken remotely in dire situations, which is where you come in."

Processing, he was processing. Then, a look of surprise. Good. He got it.

"You're asking me to kill one of your leaders?"

"Yes, Dib. The Control Brains are very difficult to hack into, for obvious reasons, but if what Zim says about you is true, we think you can do it. Furthermore, we cannot have this traced back to us. It would be treason."

"But…why? What did he do? That's a pretty big favor to ask of someone you've never even met before!"

I paused and glanced at Purple. He was standing next to me with his eyes downcast, shifting uncomfortably. I had to be careful how I phrased the next part.

"You see, Dib…" No. I had to make him relate. "Say, you're pretty unpopular among your people, right?"

"Wow. That's kind of mean. I don't see what that has to do with any—"

"Do you ever get…what's the word…bullied?"

His expression softened and he seemed to be contemplating whether to answer me.

"…yes…" he answered honestly after a few seconds of silence.

"Well, Red – the other Tallest – is a bully. Worse than bully. He's done some…very harmful things…to some of our people. He needs to be stopped, but aside from being nearly all-powerful, he's also very smart and very strong. I'm afraid that what we're asking you to help us with now is our only option. In return for your services, we promise that the Irken Empire will never bring any harm to Planet Earth."

Dib had the strangest look on his face. He had been staring blankly down as I spoke, and he seemed sad and distant. He suddenly snapped his eyes back up at us.

Looking directly at Purple he asked, "Did he hurt _**you**_?"

Purple stared back, his expression almost mirroring Dib's.

"…yes…"

Dib nodded glumly and turned his eyes downward again. He appeared to be thinking.

"Ok," he said after a short while, "I'll help you."


	7. Dying

**Chapter 7: Dying**

Convincing Dib to help us was actually easier than I thought it would be. In the end we ended up promising not only to never invade the Earth, but to give aid if it were ever attacked by another alien force and to answer honestly any questions Dib had about our race. It was also understood that if Dib tried to deactivate either Purple or myself that Purple would use the last 10 minutes of his life to order the complete destruction of Earth.

'_What about deactivating Zim?'_ Dib had asked.

Purple had replied that Dib could do whatever he wanted with Zim. It was of no concern to us. However, he must deactivate Red first, as quickly as possible.

"We should go back to the bridge," I said after I ended the transmission.

"The bridge? But the day's over."

"Yeah, but if Red comes looking for us before Dib has time to deactivate him, I'd rather be on the bridge than somewhere private. He's less likely to go after us if we're surrounded by witnesses."

I unlocked the door and stepped into the hallway right as Red was coming around a corner down the way. Purple hovered out of the room behind me. I turned around, about to tell him to quickly go back inside and shut the door, but Red had already spotted us. He was hovering towards us quickly and I knew it was useless to run so I just stood there with Purple, my stomach in knots. So much for waiting it out from the safety of the bridge.

"The funniest thing happened just now," Red said to me, looking thoroughly incensed, "I went to the loading bay to check on that snacking emergency you told me about, but no one knew what I was talking about. According to everyone down there, things are running as smoothly as ever. It seems like you lied to me, Naara."

He was staring at me vehemently. I felt my heart rate rising and my throat drying out under his heated gaze. It was probably only a fraction of the fear he made Purple feel on a regular basis and I couldn't image living every day in such a state.

"Why did you lie, Naara?" Red asked. He kept his voice steady, lowered, anger simmering just under the surface.

I stared back at him through wide eyes. I couldn't think of anything to say to him, not that I would have been able to speak anyways. The only thought that kept running through my mind was _'Hurry, Dib, hurry.'_

"Did you have something to do with this?" Red growled, turning his angry gaze to Purple.

Purple only started back at him, frozen just as I was. In typical brute fashion, Red grabbed Purple roughly be one arm, making him wince and instinctively try to pull back.

"What are you hiding?!" Red demanded. "What are you up to?!"

"Nothing!" Purple cried out.

"Liar!"

Red violently shoved Purple into the wall and pinned him there, the same way he had done earlier after breakfast when he had questioned his co-ruler on the origins of my black eye. My heart was pounding in my chest. I didn't know what to do. No one else was around to distract Red this time.

"Talk! What are you up to?!" Red yelled at his co-ruler as he slammed him into the wall again.

"Stop! Leave him alone!" I shouted before I could stop myself.

Red didn't release his hold on Purple, but he did turn to glare at me. He looked like he was about to say something to me when suddenly the furious look left his face and was replaced by a look of confusion, which was in turn quickly replaced by a look of fear.

He released Purple and stood staring at me through wide eyes.

"…Is something the matter, my Tallest?" I ventured hopefully.

"My life clock just came on." He answered weakly.

"Well then, as your advisor, I'd suggest you get yourself to the medical bay in the next ten minutes," I said. He was so shocked that I doubt he even noticed the complete lack of empathy or concern in my voice. Without another word, Red turned and hovered off in the direction of the medical bay.

"…not that they'll find anything…" I muttered after he had gone. I turned and looked up at Purple. "Are you Ok?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," he answered, and for the first time, I believed him. Red was dying and Purple actually looked relieved.

"We should get back to the bridge," I said.

"Why?" Purple asked. "What does it matter now?"

"We should go back there and act like we have no idea what's going on," I replied, "Like we're just waiting for Red to come back from the loading bay. They'll send someone to tell us he's dying and then we can act like we're surprised and rush to the medical bay in a state of worry to witness his final minutes."

"Oh. I like that. You're so smart, Naara."

I grinned as I accompanied Purple back to the bridge. He sat in his usual seat and I stood dutifully at my post by the door as if I were casually waiting for the other Tallest to return to his rightful seat as well. Only a few minutes had passed when a medical tech burst through the door, gasping for breath and clearly carrying urgent news.

"My Tallest!" he gasped. Purple stood and looked at him, faking a look of concern.

"What is it?" he asked. His eyes shifted to me briefly before returning to the shorter medical tech next to me.

"It's Tallest Red, sir," the tech reported, "He's in the medical bay. His life clock turned on by itself and we can't figure out how to turn it off. He may only have a matter of minutes left. We think you should come…"

"I'm on my way," Purple replied.

The tech darted back down the hallway and Purple joined me by the door. The navigators and techs on the bridge were all looking at us with worried expressions.

"Carry on," Purple instructed them.

We made our way to the medical bay where we were quickly ushered inside the room that was holding Red. The doctors had been unable to determine what was wrong with his PAK. Their diagnostics turned up nothing, as expected, and they therefore had no clue how to fix it. Red had less than five minutes of life left and they had left us alone with him to say our farewells.

Lying helplessly in the hospital bed, Red didn't look at all like the heartless abuser I had come to know him as. He looked small and afraid. He could barely move, he couldn't speak, his eyes were beginning to dim, and his respiratory system was beginning to shut down, leaving him shallowly gasping for air. I caught myself beginning to feel sorry for him and was quick to remind myself that he was indeed a heartless abuser that deserved exactly what he was getting now.

It was hard to tell how much he could comprehend at that point, but judging by his facial expression he seemed to recognize Purple and I. At least some level of cognitive ability was still intact. Purple approached one side of his hospital bed and I stood on the other side.

"Red." Red turned his head towards Purple when he heard his name. "Listen to me. There's something I want you to know before you die. I want you to know that this was not how I wanted things to end, but you left me no choice. You brought it on yourself. And I hope that in your final moments you feel all the fear and pain that you caused me to feel. At least your misery will end when your life-clock runs out of time. Consider that a gift of mercy from me to you."

Red slowly turned his frightened gaze away from Purple and turned it upon me. I felt his claw-like fingers wrap around mine with what little strength he had left. I didn't yank my hand away though. I looked at Purple. He was staring down at Red emotionlessly, patiently waiting for him to die.

Red's gasping for air was becoming worse. He couldn't have more than two or three minutes left. Soon, his respiratory system would shut down completely and he would begin to suffocate. The lack of oxygen would destroy what was left of his brain and his heart would stop forever.

I looked back down at Red. I wished I could stare back at him with as little feeling as Purple until he died, but he was becoming too pathetic to look at. I was about to tear my gaze away again when something caught my attention-

Something out of place. Something with his eyes. Flickering, like when you're trying to receive a transmission or tune into a broadcast and there is too much interference, like multiple entities fighting for control over a single channel.

A glitch. A _real_ glitch. Maybe even a virus. Something that is _not_ Red fighting for control, or fighting to escape as its host dies. Purple said they used to be best friends – he and Red. He didn't know what changed. One day Red was just…not Red anymore.

Gasping, I finally yanked my hand away from Red and darted into the hallway. I looked up and down the hallway and spotted some medical staff a short ways down.

"Get in here!" I shouted at them. "I know what's wrong with the Tallest's PAK. Hurry! You can still save him!"


End file.
